HONOLULU, Hawaii — Lady Tiger basketball was out-scored by eight points in the second quarter and that was all Menlo College needed to pull out an 82-74 upset in game one of the Hoop and Surf Christmas Classic.
Campbellsville (11-2) and Menlo (10-2) both matched each other point-for-point in three of the four quarters but the second went the way of the Oaks, 23-15.
Menlo forced eight turnovers in the second frame and scored more than half of its second-quarter points (12) off those CU miscues. Tied at 17,
Madison Clements buried one of her four 3-point baskets and
Jordan Doram picked up an offensive board and put-back to give the Lady Tigers a four-point lead, 22-18.
Clements led the Lady Tigers with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while three other Lady Tigers pitched in 11 -
Lauren Turner,
Caitlin Hall and
Madison Stewart. The 11 points for Hall is a new career-high.
After the four-point advantage, it was the turnovers that started to haunt CU. The Lady Tigers turned the ball over on the next three possessions allowing Menlo to flip a four-point deficit into an 8-0 run to get ahead, 26-22, with 6:21 left in the half.
Madison Faulkner went 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 5:28 left to end almost a three-minute drought for CU but the Oaks already took the lead for good.
After trailing 22-18, Menlo finished the half on a 22-10 run and led 40-32 at the intermission.
In the third quarter, CU held Menlo scoreless for the final 3:05 and shrunk the lead to as little as eight points. Turner hit a pair of free throws with 2:52 left,
Savannah Gregory nailed a jumper and Doram scored her third point on a free throw with 10 seconds remaining for a mini 5-0 run to end the third.
CU was able to push that run to 10-0 after Clements scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to three, 54-51.
But that was as close as the Lady Tigers would get. Menlo held CU scoreless for the next four minutes and pushed its lead back to eight, 61-53, with 5:48 remaining.
After CU cut the deficit to three, the Oaks went on a 16-4 run pushing its lead to as large as 15 points, 70-55. Campbellsville was able to get within seven points on four different occasions but each time, the Oaks would answer right back.
Campbellsville did force 13 turnovers in the fourth quarter - scoring 16 of its 28 points off those miscues. The Lady Tigers ended up forcing 33 overall, but the CU had 26 miscues itself. CU scored 30 points off turnovers and Menlo finished with 28.
Menlo, which came in as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, nailed 7-of-16 (43%) from deep, while CU hit only 5-of-20 - with Clements registering four of them and
Lexxus Graham the other.
The Oaks also out-scored CU 14-0 in fast break points.
Ashlyn Monk led the Oaks with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting and hit all six free throws. Madison Michelis pitched in with 17 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year and third-straight.
Campbellsville now has a quick turnaround and another tall task, as the Lady Tigers play No. 5 Wayland Baptist University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and fans can follow Richard RoBards on Twitter, @Rbrobards, for in-game updates.